Today, I am reading and commenting on  1 Samuel 18-20.

The stories told here are recounted so as to communicate to us how God was with David, but they tell us some other things about both David and King Saul.  First, reading between the lines we can see that David treated those around him well, leading them to love him.  This led King Saul to be jealous of David, which tells us that King Saul did not treat people similarly.  Both Saul and David were charismatic people who others just naturally liked and looked to for leadership.  But as time went on, people came to fear King Saul, whereas David became ever more beloved (something which we see continue when he became king).  I think I have touched on this before, but I want to point out that King Saul’s behavior towards David (and as we later see towards others) reflects his abandonment of and by God.  Actually, it is even more than that.  King Saul had come to see his leadership of Israel as being about him, not about what was best for the people of Israel.  Leaders who see their position as being about what’s in it for them, hate and fear anyone else who is loved by the people, especially when that person focuses on the best interest of the people.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.